Page 18 of Liars

I sighed, running the tip of my finger along the glass rim. “She moved in yesterday.”

He rubbed a hand over the stubble along his jaw. “Ah, now things are starting to make sense. Let me take a stab in the dark; she’s pretty.”

My head snapped in his direction. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Isn’t that why you’re here, drowning those feelings you don’t want to feel? It’s what you’re notorious for. Blocking out emotions, Kreed.”

I was already frowning. “It’s better than being a notorious rake who made it his mission to fuck every girl in Elmwood.”

Raine didn’t take offense. He grinned like I’d issued him a compliment. “You have your way of dealing with shit, and I have mine. But I have to say, my way is so much more fun, little bro.”

My glass paused an inch from my lips. “Whatever,” I mumbled, tipping my drink back and letting the sweet burn coat my throat.

“Hmm.” Raine’s expression turned serious. “Tell me, what is it about her that has you so turned up? It’s a temporarysituation. She’ll be eighteen this summer. And you graduate in a few months. Surely, you can live with a girl until then.”

It wasn’t just living with her. She came with baggage, but the real problem was the twins. It fell to my shoulders to keep the two of them in line, not an uncomplicated task. “It’s not me I’m worried about.”

“Maddox and Mason.”

We shared a look only the two of us understood. The twins had always been a handful, and their behavior only got worse as they got older. Being the youngest also meant my father often turned a blind eye to their shenanigans. Raine and I spent too much damn time cleaning up their messes. I didn’t want to think about what would happen when I went to college next year, leaving them to their own devices. They’d be lucky if they graduated.

I swirled what little was left in my glass. “It’s too much to hope they’ll take responsibility for their actions.”

Raine checked a text message that came through on his phone before replying. “That’s the damn truth. Are you more worried for her or the twins?”

“The obvious answer should be her.”

“But…” Raine prompted.

This familiar feeling of doom crept up my spine like a dozen spiders stalking, fangs erected, ready to sink into my flesh. “I can’t shake this feeling shit is going to go sideways.”

A ghost of a smile played on Raine’s lips. “I hadn’t given her a second thought, but now I’m looking forward to meeting her.”

Wonderful. I’d never met a single female who could resist Raine. Not that I gave two shits. Kaylor was free to do and see who she pleased as long as it didn’t cause tension between us.

She was going to be trouble—cause trouble. I could feel it.

And the last thing the sons of Donovan Corvo fucking needed was more problems, especially one with sultry, pouty lips andbig, sad eyes that made any man want to save her. She had that appeal about her that incited the natural need to protect.

The only people I cared about shielding were my brothers. Everyone else, including my father, could fuck right off.

The whiskey turned sour in my mouth.

6

KAYLOR

Iall but ran back to my room, Evan’s shadow not far behind me, but I paid the guard little attention, slamming the door shut and leaning against it. My breathing ragged, I stared at the phone in my hand, the empty contact list taunting me. It felt like my entire world was slipping further and further away each day, and I could do nothing to stop it.

I let out a half growl, half scream of frustration, the back of my head hitting the wood, and then I blindly hurled the phone across the room. When the shattering crash never came, I shoved off the door, searching for where the device landed.

It sat cushioned on the messy bed, nestled into a pile of rumpled blankets.

Go figure.

I couldn’t even throw a fit properly and break shit. But in hindsight, it was probably better I hadn’t smashed the stupid phone in a fit of rage.

Burying my face into my hands, I made the air in my lungs move in and out with slow, steady breaths. I was losing my fucking mind.

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